Texas General Land Office: Commissioner Bush is faithfully remembering the Alamo

The following is written in response to American Thinker's post, "Remodeling the Texas Alamo on politically correct tourist trap lines," which ran yesterday.

My name is Bryan Preston, and I am the communications director at the Texas General Land Office (GLO). We manage the Alamo on behalf of the people of Texas since 2011.

Some of you may remember me from Hot Air, PJ Media, or The Laura Ingraham Show. I mention them only to establish that I'm a solid conservative. I'm also a fifth-generation Texan and a veteran.

Managing the Alamo is one of our most sacred duties at the GLO. Planning for its future is one of our critical missions.

Rest assured: the Alamo is in good hands. Despite what you may have heard, there is no attempt to minimize the battle. The battle is what makes the Alamo the Alamo. March 6, 1836 is one of the days around which Texas history turns. The other is April 21, 1836 – Sam Houston's shocking victory at San Jacinto. There is no attempt to change the Alamo's name. That would be ludicrous. But we have been accused of that.

The fact is, we are striving to bring 1836 to life every single day at the Alamo.

The master plan that we have developed in partnership with the city of San Antonio and the Alamo Endowment calls for five things:

Restoration of the Church and Long Barracks.

Re-establishing clarity and order through the delineation of the historic (1836) footprint.

Recapturing the Historic Mission Plaza and creating a sense of reverence and respect on the historic battlefield.

Repurposing the Crockett, Woolworth, and Palace buildings into a world-class visitor center and museum that tells the story of the Battle of the Alamo and over 300 years of layered history.

Creating a sense of arrival to the site and enhance connectivity between the site and other public spaces.

You may read more about the master plan, and see some of the myths that have been spread about it, here.

Point 1 of the master plan is about preserving the 300-year-old Alamo Church and Long Barracks, which are the only structures that survive from the battle in 1836. Points 2 and 3 discuss the Alamo battlefield. That battlefield, where the heroic defenders bled and died for Texas, is currently under streets and sidewalks. It is flanked by a carnival-like atmosphere that is disrespectful to the defenders. Trucks and buses drive through it every day, sending vibrations through the ground that literally rattle the church apart bit by bit. Point 4 is very exciting. It's about the museum that will display and protect the incredible Phil Collins collection of Alamo and Texana artifacts. When finished, the Alamo and this museum will be the largest exhibit in the world on the Texas Revolution. Point 5 elevates the Alamo to the pinnacle of life in San Antonio, where it belongs.

And while there is a rich story to tell at the Alamo, the siege and battle of 1836 will always remain at the center of that story. This has never been in doubt.

To be sure, there are many details that have yet to be sorted out. Despite what you may have heard, the Cenotaph will always stand. It is the defenders' empty tomb, because their bodies were burned after the battle. It was commissioned in 1940 and was placed within the 1836 battlefield. The Cenotaph is owned by the city of San Antonio, which has final say over where it stands. It may stay where it is, or it may be placed near the defenders' funeral pyre locations, which are currently not well marked. We know that this is a sensitive subject, as the defender descendants rightly see the Alamo and the Cenotaph as their family grave site. We are listening. No final decision has been made. It does need repair, and for a few names of defenders, who were not known in 1940, to be added. But one thing is absolutely certain: the Cenotaph will always stand to honor the Alamo defenders.

The Alamo is the living, beating heart of Texas. It's where the Texan identity begins. We encourage everyone who loves liberty to visit the Alamo, take our improved battlefield tour, learn from our living history staff, and see the interactive Bowie: Man – Life – Legend exhibit. I happened to produce and co-write that exhibit, and I'm proud of our team's work. It's an exhibit of big, mean knives and the adventurous Alamo defender who made them famous. How P.C. could it be?

The GLO and Alamo staffs teamed up to produce that exhibit in house, as a labor of love to reach back to 1836 and bring it up to today to teach rising generations about Texas history.

Political correctness may be running amok elsewhere around the world, but we're talking about the Alamo. We're talking about Texas. Political correctness has no place in the Shrine of Texas Liberty, and as long as George P. Bush is the Alamo's guardian, it never will.

The following is written in response to American Thinker's post, "Remodeling the Texas Alamo on politically correct tourist trap lines," which ran yesterday.

My name is Bryan Preston, and I am the communications director at the Texas General Land Office (GLO). We manage the Alamo on behalf of the people of Texas since 2011.

Some of you may remember me from Hot Air, PJ Media, or The Laura Ingraham Show. I mention them only to establish that I'm a solid conservative. I'm also a fifth-generation Texan and a veteran.

Managing the Alamo is one of our most sacred duties at the GLO. Planning for its future is one of our critical missions.

Rest assured: the Alamo is in good hands. Despite what you may have heard, there is no attempt to minimize the battle. The battle is what makes the Alamo the Alamo. March 6, 1836 is one of the days around which Texas history turns. The other is April 21, 1836 – Sam Houston's shocking victory at San Jacinto. There is no attempt to change the Alamo's name. That would be ludicrous. But we have been accused of that.

The fact is, we are striving to bring 1836 to life every single day at the Alamo.

The master plan that we have developed in partnership with the city of San Antonio and the Alamo Endowment calls for five things:

Restoration of the Church and Long Barracks.

Re-establishing clarity and order through the delineation of the historic (1836) footprint.

Recapturing the Historic Mission Plaza and creating a sense of reverence and respect on the historic battlefield.

Repurposing the Crockett, Woolworth, and Palace buildings into a world-class visitor center and museum that tells the story of the Battle of the Alamo and over 300 years of layered history.

Creating a sense of arrival to the site and enhance connectivity between the site and other public spaces.

You may read more about the master plan, and see some of the myths that have been spread about it, here.

Point 1 of the master plan is about preserving the 300-year-old Alamo Church and Long Barracks, which are the only structures that survive from the battle in 1836. Points 2 and 3 discuss the Alamo battlefield. That battlefield, where the heroic defenders bled and died for Texas, is currently under streets and sidewalks. It is flanked by a carnival-like atmosphere that is disrespectful to the defenders. Trucks and buses drive through it every day, sending vibrations through the ground that literally rattle the church apart bit by bit. Point 4 is very exciting. It's about the museum that will display and protect the incredible Phil Collins collection of Alamo and Texana artifacts. When finished, the Alamo and this museum will be the largest exhibit in the world on the Texas Revolution. Point 5 elevates the Alamo to the pinnacle of life in San Antonio, where it belongs.

And while there is a rich story to tell at the Alamo, the siege and battle of 1836 will always remain at the center of that story. This has never been in doubt.

To be sure, there are many details that have yet to be sorted out. Despite what you may have heard, the Cenotaph will always stand. It is the defenders' empty tomb, because their bodies were burned after the battle. It was commissioned in 1940 and was placed within the 1836 battlefield. The Cenotaph is owned by the city of San Antonio, which has final say over where it stands. It may stay where it is, or it may be placed near the defenders' funeral pyre locations, which are currently not well marked. We know that this is a sensitive subject, as the defender descendants rightly see the Alamo and the Cenotaph as their family grave site. We are listening. No final decision has been made. It does need repair, and for a few names of defenders, who were not known in 1940, to be added. But one thing is absolutely certain: the Cenotaph will always stand to honor the Alamo defenders.

The Alamo is the living, beating heart of Texas. It's where the Texan identity begins. We encourage everyone who loves liberty to visit the Alamo, take our improved battlefield tour, learn from our living history staff, and see the interactive Bowie: Man – Life – Legend exhibit. I happened to produce and co-write that exhibit, and I'm proud of our team's work. It's an exhibit of big, mean knives and the adventurous Alamo defender who made them famous. How P.C. could it be?

The GLO and Alamo staffs teamed up to produce that exhibit in house, as a labor of love to reach back to 1836 and bring it up to today to teach rising generations about Texas history.

Political correctness may be running amok elsewhere around the world, but we're talking about the Alamo. We're talking about Texas. Political correctness has no place in the Shrine of Texas Liberty, and as long as George P. Bush is the Alamo's guardian, it never will.